While not necessarily limited thereto, the teachings of the present invention may find particular utility in a table saw described and claimed in the following U.S. patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,442 issued on Feb. 10, 1981 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,427 issued on June 2, 1981 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,428 issued on June 2, 1981 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,276,799 issued on July 7, 1981
In these patents, a unique table saw is disclosed wherein the blade may be raised up out of the housing to engage a workpiece held securely on the table top. The raising or lowering of the blade is controlled by an elevation control lever that projects through an opening in the front panel of the housing for the table saw. This elevation control lever may also be locked in a desired elevated position to thereby firmly hold the saw blade with respect to the table at a desired depth-of-cut position, in which case the workpiece is moved into the blade (as in the case of a conventional arbor saw).
The elevation control lever is suitably coupled to a bevel control means which tilts the saw blade and its driving motor relative to the table for a bevel cut. In any position of the bevel control means, the elevation control lever has a limited translational movement to facilitate the raising of the saw blade out of the table. Thus, the elevation control lever has a relatively large traverse, and the opening in the front panel of the saw housing must be of sufficient size and shape to accommodate this traverse. Since this opening is relatively large, a suitable cover must be provided to prevent dust or other debris from entering into the housing, as well as to provide a protective shield to prevent inadvertent access to the mechanism within the housing.
In the prior art, of which I am aware, the opening has been covered by a double bellows comprising a vertically-arranged bellows within the housing and against the opening. The vertical bellows has an access opening therein through which the elevation control lever projects, and this access opening is in turn covered by a horizontally arranged bellows within the housing adjacent to the first bellows.
These cooperating bellows, while satisfactory for the purposes intended, are relatively expensive and are primarily intended for a large heavy-duty industrially-rated machine. However, in adapting the described table saw to the design of a smaller and more compact machine, one intended for moderate usage by contractors and homeowners, the cooperating double-bellows arrangement is relatively expensive and unsuitable. Additionally, the housing for the moderate-duty saw is smaller than the corresponding industrial machine, leaving insufficient room for a relatively complicated double-bellows arrangement.